Cooked low and slow over smoke and then wrapped with butter and honey, these smoked baby back ribs are packed full of flavor.
Few things are more satisfying than getting stuck into a rack of ribs with your bare hands and biting into that sweet barbecue pork.
These smoked baby back ribs combine elements from various regional U.S. styles, with the sweet dry rub particularly common in Memphis BBQ. I’ve used a foil wrap towards the end, which some people prefer to skip but I find it helps break down the thick meat between the bones in baby backs and gives us an added opportunity to work in a bit more flavor with the honey and butter.
Baby back ribs, also known as loin back ribs, come from the upper part of the pig’s rib cage, close to the loin. While their smaller size makes them less popular among some BBQ cooks, it’s precisely that size and leaner meat that makes them an excellent choice for barbecue newcomers. They’re pretty easy to cook and more forgiving than other types of pork rib.
How to Smoke Baby Back Ribs
1. Prep
Using a sharp paring knife, trim any excess fat from the rib rack. Don’t go overboard, though – fat is flavor, so leave a thin layer intact.
Next, remove the membrane (or silverskin) from the underside of the rib rack. The best way to do this is by gripping it with a dry paper towel and slowly pulling it from the ribs. With any luck this will come away in one go, but it might need a few attempts to get rid of all of it.
Finally, trim away any loose bits of meat dangling from the rack, then rinse under cold water.
2. Season
In a small bowl, combine paprika, salt, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, dried oregano, and mustard powder. Use a fork to combine it thoroughly to create an even consistency.
Next, apply a thin layer of yellow mustard to the ribs. This doesn’t really add any flavor but instead acts as a binder to effectively glue the rub to the ribs during the process of the smoke.
Sprinkle the dry rub evenly and liberally to cover all sides of the baby backs. We want that beautiful bark to form all over!
3. Smoke
Fire up your smoker to 250°F (120°C). If you’re using a charcoal grill, make sure you are set up for low and slow cooking, either with the coals arranged to one side or in a snake formation, and with a couple of chunks of wood on top (some people recommend apple or cherry, but I’m happy just to go with oak).
With your smoker chugging along at temperature, place the prepared ribs on the grates and leave them to smoke for about three hours.
4. Spritz
Combine apple juice and apple cider vinegar in a 1:1 ratio in a food-safe spray bottle. After the first hour of smoking, spritz the ribs lightly and continue spritzing every 30-40 minutes to keep them moist.
5. Wrap
Once the ribs have been smoking for 3 hours, double-wrap them in aluminum foil with a few dots of butter and a drizzle of honey on top before sealing. Place the wrapped ribs back in the smoker, and cook for a further hour. This wrapping phase is designed to tenderize the ribs slightly and lock in moisture (plus, the added flavor from the butter and honey is hard to resist).
6. Pull
Here’s the challenge with pork ribs: Knowing exactly when they’re done can be a challenge since they’re not the easiest meat to get an accurate temperature read from. The close proximity between each bone can disrupt the best of thermometers, however the thicker meat we get with baby backs gives us a bit more leeway.
Insert a probe into the meat between any two ribs. We want an internal temperature of 180°F (82°C). But other key signs that the ribs are done include being tender enough to insert a toothpick into with little resistance, and they should bend when picked up with a pair of tongs in the middle.
7. Serve
With the ribs done, pull them from the smoker. Brush a little barbecue sauce on the topside of the ribs and let them rest for 5-10 minutes to firm up slightly.
To slice, turn them bone-side up so you can see where to cut between the bones. Serve right away!
Quick Tips
- Remove the Membrane: Not everyone does it, but I recommend removing the membrane (also known as silverskin) from the bone side of the ribs as part of your meat prep. The membrane can turn rubbery when cooked, and can stop the smoke from getting into that side of the rib rack. Since it doesn’t offer much benefit, I just ditch it.
- Use a Water Pan: Keeping the cooking chamber humid is key to stopping meat going dry, particularly with lean baby back ribs, so I recommend using a water pan during the smoke. Fill a disposable aluminum tray with some ice cubes and cold water, and place it either on the grates alongside the ribs, or directly underneath them.
- The Bend Test: I have given a target internal temperature in the recipe as a guide, but the bones in the ribs can make this a little more challenging, so as a backup, check the doneness of the ribs by picking them up in the middle of the rack with tongs. If they bend easily with a little bit of crack coming in on the surface, they’re good to go.
Smoked Baby Back Ribs
Ingredients
- 2 racks of baby back ribs
- 4 tbsp yellow mustard
- ½ stick of butter
- 4 tsp honey
- 2 cups BBQ sauce
Rub
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 2 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp mustard powder
Spritz
- ½ cup apple juice
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Fire up your smoker to 250°F (120°C)
- Trim the ribs to remove any excess fat or meat, and remove the membrane from the bone side of the ribs
- Apply a thin layer of yellow mustard to the ribs, covering evenly on all sides
- In a small bowl, combine the dry rub ingredients. Then, sprinkle the rub over the ribs, covering liberally and evenly across all sides of the rib racks.
- Once your smoker is at target temperature, place the ribs on the smoker grates. Smoke for 3 hours.
- After the first hour of cooking, add the apple cider vinegar and apple juice to a food-safe spray bottle, and spritz the ribs every 30-40 minutes.
- Place the ribs in a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, dot with butter and drizzle with honey. Wrap tightly (I prefer to double-wrap) and place back in the smoker for a further 1-1½ hours, or until the ribs are tender and an internal thermometer reads 180°F (82°C).
- Open the foil and brush with BBQ sauce on top. Loosely recover the ribs and leave to rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Slice the ribs to serve by turning them over so they’re bone-side up. Using the bones as a guide, cut between the bones to serve the baby backs as individual ribs. Enjoy right away.
